


For Emergencies Only

by lielabell



Series: Unexpected Verse [5]
Category: Power Rangers
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-29
Updated: 2011-12-29
Packaged: 2017-10-28 10:38:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/306998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lielabell/pseuds/lielabell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tommy likes Conner, Conner likes Tommy, but only Hayley seems to realize what's keeping them apart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For Emergencies Only

"Conner! Pick up your phone. I know you're there."

Conner groaned and slapped his hand on his alarm reflexively.

"Pick up the phone. It's nearly noon. Every sensible person is up and about, enjoying the day. Pick up, or I will come over there and pound on your door until your neighbors call the cops."

Conner ground the palm of one hand into his eye while the other frantically searched his bedside table for his phone. He almost sighed with relief when he found it. "Why are you calling me?" he snapped once he had it pressed to his ear. "Shouldn't you still be wrapped around that pretty thing I saw you sucking face with last night?"

Kira made an irritated noise. "That was my plan, yes, but other people couldn't keep their big mouths closed and now there is an official former Ranger intervention being planned or something. I don't even know. But that's not why I'm calling you."

"Care to share?" Conner asked in only a slightly more agreeable tone.

"Hayley has been trying to get a hold of you for the last hour or so. And I know she is too nice a lady to scream threats into your phone, so I did it for her."

Conner scoffed. "You don't know her as well as you think you do."

"Whatever. Just call her, would you?" Conner grunted, which she took as a yes. "Good. Well, I've done my good deed for the month. Now I've got to get back to my, uh,"

"Pretty thing?" Conner teased. She snarled at him and he laughed, which only made her snarl some more. "Go on, I won't keep you from him any longer." She clicked off in a huff, but Conner was sure it was all front and not hurt feelings. They'd been friends too long to let a little teasing get between them.

He slumped back into bed and closed his eyes. He was going to call Hayley, just not right now. If she really needed to talk to him, she would get in touch herself.

*~*~*

"Conner!"

Conner shot up in bed and then let out a long sigh as he sank back down. He threw an arm across his eyes. "Not again."

"Not again?"

He jumped and turned towards the voice. "How did you get in here?" he demanded in a squeak, pulling his blankets up around him to protect his modesty.

"You gave me a spare key," Hayley said calmly.

"That was for emergencies only!" he protested.

Hayley narrowed her eyes at him. "I think you'll agree that I had sufficient reason, once you hear why I'm here. Which, by the way, I wouldn't be if you had bothered to call me the way you said you would."

Conner gave her his best charming grin. "I was going to, I swear."

"Uh hu." Hayley pinned him with her patented knowing look and he squirmed in his sheets like he was still seventeen. "How about you make yourself decent and come out to the kitchen and we'll have us a little chat."

"Kitchen?" Conner perked up a bit.

She nodded. "I know I won't get a sensible word out of you until you've had some coffee and shoveled something into that pit you call a stomach."

Conner thought about making a face at her, but remembered that he wasn't actually a teenager anymore, and, more importantly, that she was going to make him breakfast. "Sure thing," he said as cheerily as he could. She gave him one last knowing look, then stepped out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

*~*~*

True to her word, Hayley didn't say a thing until he had polished off two eggs, four pancakes, more bacon than he really needed to eat and the whole pot of coffee.

"That was amazing," he said as he pushed back his chair.

"It certainly was." Hayley glanced at his stomach and then shook her head. "I honestly don't know where you put it."

Conner grinned and flexed his arms. "And if you think that's impressive, you should see my glutes."

"Hum." She didn't smile, but Conner could see that it cost her not to. "Yes, well that was actually what I came here to talk to you about."

"What?" Conner blinked at her. "My glutes? How does that," he trailed off with a shake of his head. "No, I haven't done anything to piss you off enough to make you want to kick my ass."

"No, but I know I have threatened to in the past. And maybe I shouldn't have. Or, I should have put in a time limit. But, truth be told, I didn't really think I would have to."

Conner sighed. "I wish I had an idea of what you are talking about."

Hayley took a sip of her tea, then patted her lips with her napkin. "Remember that talk we had about appropriate behavior?"

"Which one?" Conner crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "I recall a number of times that topic came up."

"I'm sure you do," Hayley's eyes twinkled, "but I'm thinking of the one we had after Tommy took the lot of you to that waterpark. You remember that one?"

Conner swallowed hard. "Yeah."

"I take it you also remember what I said about boundaries and what an appropriate relationship for teachers and students constitutes?"

"Dude," Conner held up his hands in protest. "I haven't done anything. I don't know what you heard or who was crazy enough to tell you it, but whoever it is, they are dead wrong. I haven't so much as glanced in Tommy's direction. And, yeah, I was a total dick about it when I was a kid, but that was years ago and I'm older now. I get how wrong what I did was."

Hayley smiled at him. "I'm glad you can see that now."

"I would never put anyone in that sort of a situation again," Conner said fervently. "I swear."

"I know you wouldn't."

"Then why..." Conner gave her a puzzled look. "Aw crap, is one of my kids into me? God, I knew I shouldn't have agreed to coach teen girls. I thought if I told them upfront that I was gay it would stifle any inappropriate crushes, but I should have known something like this would happen."

Hayley laughed outright. "No, it's not one of your girls. Although it would serve you right if it was. And I know you haven't tried to make a move on Tommy, although you would be perfectly within bounds if you did."

"What!" Conner gave her an outraged look. "Have you completely lost your mind?"

"Conner, how old are you?" Hayley asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Uh, twenty-two."

"That's right. You've twenty-two. And what is the legal age of consent?"

"Eighteen," Conner answered, still not getting where she was going.

She gave him an encouraging look. "And how many years past eighteen is twenty-two?"

"Four." Conner shook his head, "But what does that have to do with anything? Tommy's still out of bounds. He was my teacher. Hell, he was my mentor."

"Ah, yes. He _was_. As in, isn't any more. And hasn't been for quite a few years now," Hayley pointed out.

For a moment Conner just gaped at her, unable to think over the buzzing sound in his brain. "Tommy's not my teacher any more," he said slowly.

"That's right."

"He's not in any sort of position of authority over me," Conner continued. "At all. And hasn't been since before I could vote. Which means that all those things you said to me don't apply."

"I think my work here is done," Hayley said, a wide smile on her face.

Conner smiled just as widely back. "So you won't kick my ass if I kiss him?"

"No, I won't kick your ass if you kiss him. Although I would think of some other way to broach the subject with him."

Conner ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. I'll think about it."

"You do that." Hayley pushed back her chair and stood up. "But don't take too long deciding what to do. I have a feeling he just might show up at your game tonight. And if he does," she let her sentence hang and Conner felt a surge of excitement course through him. In a flash, he was up and around the table, wrapping Hayley in a tight hug.


End file.
